sw1mushfandomcom-20200215-history
Operation Womprat Hunt
After a significant increase in pirate activity in the region of space bordering the "northern" reaches of the Empire's and CSA's territory, the New Republic Senate decided to intervene. An operation was planned, both as a necessity to help the economies of loyal planets in the region, and as a way to show the effectiveness of the military and increase morale. Components of Spike Task Force were pulled aside to perform this role. To best deal with the elusiveness of these criminal outfits, the resulting force was based around small, fast warships including the corvette ''Audacity'' and gunships ''Lightbringer'' and ''Mon Mothma''. The famed Ghost Squadron would accompany the force as the starfighter element. The 224th Battalion was also embarked along, with its Marines spread amongst the task force's ships and transports. Following a well-publicized public relations campaign, the group departed Ord Mantell with clear orders to engage, capture, or destroy any and all pirate elements threatening New Republican planets, citizens and assets in the region. Early Phase Saskrut IV A threat to interstellar tourism presented itself at hand in the star system of Saskrut. The New Republic Action Group was afforded the opportunity to survey the region and position assets completely unnoticed. When the pirate group, known as the Crimson Talon, revealed themselves to interdict a passing cruise liner, the Republicans sprung their trap and executed a near perfect attack that has been called the Pincer Action at Saskrut. Troiken The New Republic Navy's Fleet Intelligence branch learned of the location of a major base of the Fierfek Yocola group located within a remote location on the planet Troiken. Estimates had it manned with a strong component of ground troops numbering under one hundred, and a sizeable contingent of armoured vehicles, enough to attack and raid many small towns such as those on the planet or elsewhere in the sector. It was deemed appropriate that the deployed Marine contingent should be the one to lead the attack against the base in order to capture it, and its staff, as intact as possible. The attack commenced shortly after dawn, with Lt. Ipex's scouts sneaking in from the forest on one side of the base and taking out several perimeter guards with her trained snipers. Soon after, the assault on the base itself began, with Lt. Draelis' force getting into the base with the use of their assault boats. Gunships brought along for just this task neutralized the base's automated defenses, including the anti-personnel cannons. Any starships, the biggest being an ILC, were targeted to be disabled. The Fierfek forces soon recovered from this devastating first attack and deployed their vehicles to try and disable, or at least force away, the Marines' ships. After concentrated fire, a number of gunships did eventually pull back, but not before one of the remaining gunships blew up the primary power generator of the base, shutting down much of the automated defense grid. The battle between the actual soldiers did not fare much better for the Fierfek. The Marines, after dangerous losses in the initial phase of the battle when the pirates regrouped, began to cut off and systematically isolate entire squads of the pirates, cutting them off from reinforcing each other. The same fate befell the squads sent against the snipers and scouts under Lt. Wrista. Before the pirates surrendered, nearly half their troops were killed or injured enough to not fight, their vehicles were destroyed, and many of the freighters damaged while still on the ground so as to be captured. Transport shuttles were used to ferry the prisoners to the various facilities they would be housed in. Major Engagements: Late Phase Almania & Pydyr The planet of Almania, as well as its moon of Pydyr were identified by Fleet Intelligence's questionning of captured prisoners after the Troiken mission as being a major base of the Fierfek Yocola group. Because it was deemed an operational risk should the starfighter squadrons on Pydyr be permitted to join the Audacity's main assault. Ghost Squadron was sent as an advanced assault to engage and destroy the starfighter base and supply depot on the moon before they could aid the primary pirate vessels. Ghost Squadron attacked the base engaging the fighters stationned there. The pirates were not able to launch on time, and a number of their vessels were destroyed while they were still on the ground by two fighters from Ghost squadron. The two fighters then moved on to bombarding the rest of the pirate base's main buildings, including their communication array. The battle, meanwhile, above the base was not going particularly well for the pirates. Ghost Squadron's experience and discipline was able to overcome the advantage given to the pirates by their slightly superior numbers, a fact due to the pirates working primarily as individuals rather than teams. As soon as the Ghosts engaged the pirate fighters, the Audacity micro-jumped very close to the world of Almania. In orbit were found a number of vessels, for the most part freighters such as the Sardakh Systems Kale-1s, and Imperial Light Cruisers. All of them heavily modified to "punch above its weight displacement" through the addition of superior lasers and proton torbedo launchers. The freighters were anchored by a small corvette nearly half the size of a Marauder-class. Sensing the danger it posed, the Audacity concentrated its fire on it, in the process taking damage by near-unanswered attacks from the pirates. However, the pirate corvette was put out of commission by a well-placed shot at one of its poorly-shielded critical sections, which also took a large part of its hull through the proximity of one of the ammunition stores at the struck area. The Audacity then focused on systematically disabling, or destroying the smallest freighters through concentrated volleys of its cannons, the battle having all-but decidedly turned to the Republicans side, though the Audacity took a beating in the process. Those pirate vessels that tried to flee were picked up by a triumphant Ghost squadron who joined the space battle soon after. After mop-up duty, the NRCV Audacity returned to its base of Elom. Ord Radama Coordinated to happen at roughly the same time as the fight at Almania, and its moon of Pydyr. Commander Decar took command of the two Corellian Gunships the Mon Mothma and the Lightbringer. Fleet Intelligence identified an asteroid belt deep into the system as being important assets of the San Sobal group. After careful, and near-miraculous maneuvering into the belt, the two gunships caught by surprise the pirate base, quickly overwhelming its defences before destroying the hangar bays installed into one of the larger asteroids. Therbey forcing the pirates into surrendering instead of a mad dash through to the other side of the asteroid field. Rescue of the Stargazer The Audacity's group received a distress signal from a massive ore hauler that was being attackeed a few systems away and maneuvering to mount up a sort of defence against the pirates. Within minutes the Audacity, already in space with Ghost Squadron on board, was preparing for a quick jump towards the system where the hauler, having given its transponder code as the Stargazer, was being attacked. Whatever thoughts that this was a trap were lost by the Republican crewmen when they say the hauler being dangerously close to being crippled in space by swarms of small pirate vessels, for the most part antiquated Z-95s and Z-96s. While the Audacity moved to provide cover for the Stargazer, whose heavy shielding and superior hull were all but exhausted, Ghost Squadron deployed to fight off the pirates. The battle soon degenerated into an-all dogfight with X-wings going against enemy fighters while the Audacity fired on the larger vessels in an attempt to fend them off. Fleet Intelligence officers on the Audacity soon identified this group as being the San Sobal, a minor pirate group within these sectors, but an important one. And more importantly, a large vessel was identified as belonging to none other than the group's head. Ghost Squadron converged on the vessel after it had been marked as a priority target. The battle continued there until at least the pirates began to retreat, and flee outright when their leader's vessel was destroyed. And while Ghost Squadron stragglers who had not yet fled, or surrendered, the battle was considered won. In the process of rescuing the Stargazer, the toll of Audacity's recent continued combat operations were felt in the vessel sustaining serious damage. The Marauder-class was forced to return to Ord Mantell for a week to be quickly repaired and patched together. The operation's overall head, Commander Decar, stayed behind with the NRGS Mon Mothma and the NRGS Lightbringer, the Audacity's XO temporarily serving as the ship CO for the duration of the repairs. Major Engagements: Final Battles Raid on Ord Radama While the Audacity was away to Ord Mantell for emergency repairs, a number of its Marine compliment were temporary shifted over to operate out of the two Corellian gunships assigned to the operation. A group of them were ferried by a shuttle, so as to not attract attention, to Ord Radama which Fleet Intelligence identified as a base holding important information concerning not only Fierfek Yocola operations in that area of space, but also that of other pirate groups. After having bought off one of the pirates working at the base, Fleet Intelligence was given a layout of the base as well as estimated forces. A small squad was sent, assisted by an officer from Fleet Intel, to infiltrate, and capture the base, with the primary objective being the recovery of the intact database of information held there. After setting off near the base, designed to resemble a rarely-used warehouse, the marine contingent made their way to the warehouse's ground floor which was known to be abandonned nearly all the time. Something soon confirmed by the Marine's sniper. Not wanting to attract attention, the squad rapelled down to the first basement level instead of using the lift, and took down the guards assigned to the elevator's entrance. Unfortunately, the base was alerted to the attack after a blaster rifle exchange that, and quickly the Marines were pushed into a tough corner by first facing equal numbers, and then a group sent to the second basement(the lowest floor) to aid those pirates in the first basement. After taking care of that group, the squad was divided with a number of them assigned to capture the much-less guarded sub-basement that contained the databases, the rest assigned to pacify the first basement and tend to the wounded, including the FleetIntel officerr. The group assigned to capture the database arrived just in time to stop the pirate commander of the base from wiping the database clean, though the ensuing fight left one of their number dead. The information captured revealed a striking level of information into the Fierfek's activities, and that of other groups in the ara, showing them to be more skilled than initially expected. Though it led to the planning of several strikes aimed at crippling the most important groups, and leave the local defence forces to deal with the smaller ones. Skirmish at Larni Politics of the Operation Endgame Category:Minor Engagements